‘My hero, he gave me his liver’: Girl, 6, pays tribute to the organ donor, 22, who saved her life after he died of a brain haemorrhage following a hockey accident
- Tom Wilson died aged 22 when he was struck in the head during a hockey match
- His mother Lisa said he was living the ‘perfect’ life in London before his death
- Some 50 people were given his tissue and organs – including six-year-old Fatima
A ‘very handsome’ 22-year-old who died when he was hit on the back of his head during hockey training four years ago has saved the lives of 50 other people through organ donation – including a six-year-old girl who says he is her ‘hero’.
Tom Wilson was living the ‘perfect’ life in London with a job at estate agents Lambert Smith Hampton, a great flat and a ‘beautiful’ girlfriend before he died after being hit over the back of the head with a hockey stick, his mother Lisa told BBC Breakfast.
The head wound proved fatal when Tom suffered an immediate haemorrhage and had to be rushed from Old Loughtonians Hockey Club in Chigwell, to hospital. His parents Lisa and Graham were told his injuries were too severe for him to recover.
.
Tom Wilson was living the ‘perfect’ life in London with a job at estate agents Lambert Smith Hampton, a great flat and a ‘beautiful’ girlfriend before he died after being hit over the back of the head with a hockey stick, his mother Lisa told BBC Breakfast
Tom’s organs transformed the lives of 50 people – including six-year-old Fatima Mirza (centre). She spoke on BBC Breakfast alongside her mother Lubna and Tom’s mother Lisa
While Tom was lying on a hospital bed they made the heart-wrenching decision to donate his organs, helped by the fact he had signed up to be a donor as an 18-year-old university fresher. ‘Tom made the decision for us and we knew we were going to go ahead with it,’ Lisa said.
Tom’s organs transformed the lives of 50 people – including six-year-old Fatima Mirza. Sitting next to her mother Lubna on the breakfast show’s sofa Fatima says she has drawn a picture of Tom: ‘He is my hero. He gave me his liver.’
Looking visibly touched Tom’s mother says: ‘I’m going to put that in my memory box. That’s very special.’ ’50 lives helped and transformed because of the organ and tissue donation,’ she later adds.
Sitting next to her mother Lubna on the breakfast show’s sofa Fatima says she has drawn a picture of Tom: ‘He is my hero. He gave me his liver’
Lisa’s husband Graham died eight weeks after his son. His last words before his death were ‘keep Tom’s memory alive’. Lisa and her daughter Pippa decided to write to the people whose lives his organs had helped to see how they were coping.
‘I was lucky that Lubna replied with photographs until we built up enough of a correspondence we felt we could meet,’ Lisa said. ‘It was so special that meeting in that park. It’s the gift of life. We said yes [to organ donation] and look at the result.’
Fatima’s mother Lubna added: ‘We were certain she was not going to make it and he saved her life. Words cannot express how grateful we are.’
Lisa’s husband Graham (left) died eight weeks after his son. His last words before his death were ‘keep Tom’s memory alive’
Looking visibly touched Tom’s mother says: ‘I’m going to put that in my memory box. That’s very special.’ ’50 lives helped and transformed because of the organ and tissue donation,’ she later adds